Marines from the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group are prepared to recover aircraft and personnel on short notice in a hostile environment should that become necessary, Stephens said in an email.

More than 2,000 Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit are aboard the ships in the Bataan’s group along with 12 MV-22B Ospreys; eight AV-8B Harriers; four CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters; three UH-1Y Venom helicopters and four AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters.

The Air Force has a variety of assets in the region, Col. Tadd Sholtis, a spokesman for U.S. Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT), said in a statement provided by the Air Force Press Desk. That statement reflects standing information about AFCENT forces and was not newly drafted.

AFCENT has a wide area of responsibility, and can draw on any of its fighters (A-10, F-15E, F-16, F-22), bombers (B-1), surveillance craft (E-3, E-8, RC-135), support vehicles (C-17, C-130, KC-10, KC-135) and unmanned systems (MQ-1, MQ-9, RQ-4).

Again, so far, IS doesn’t have AAA, surface to air missiles or hand-held assets like the Stringer missile. So far. Remember, no one thought the guys in the Ukraine had those either. This could get really messy before it gets better.

Anyway you slice it, this is a major escalation of our footprint in that area and could define how the history books look at the Obama administration. Remember, he was the one who said we were done in Iraq and well, now we aren’t. His White House didn’t answer calls by the Iraqi government last summer to go after Islamic State, then ISIS. Fault? Nah, I don’t have the intelligence or the understanding to blame. I am just laying out facts. Let people draw what they want from them.

UPDATED:

The U.S. launched a second round of airstrikes Friday, again targeting militants operating near Irbil.

Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby sent out a statement late Friday:

“The U.S. military continued to attack ISIL targets near Irbil today conducting two additional airstrikes to help defend the city where U.S. personnel are assisting the Government of Iraq.

“Shortly after 10 a.m. EDT, remotely piloted aircraft struck a terrorist mortar position. When ISIL fighters returned to the site moments later, the terrorists were attacked again and successfully eliminated.

“At approximately 11:20 a.m. EDT, four F/A-18 aircraft successfully struck a stationary ISIL convoy of seven vehicles and a mortar position near Irbil. The aircraft executed two planned passes. On both runs, each aircraft dropped one laser-guided bomb making a total of eight bombs dropped on target neutralizing the mortar and convoy.”

Mr. Obama said Thursday that he had authorized airstrikes if necessary to break an ISIS siege that has left tens of thousands of refugees stranded on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq. But so far, all of the military bombings have been carried out at targets near the Kurdish capital, where the United States has a consulate and where thousands of Americans live.

The interesting this is that Irbil is a good ways from the people at Sinjar. Air strikes can only get you so far. And if the Islamic State wants to create a caliphate as it has said, it will need some type of air presence or at least, the ability to stop planes from flying willy-nilly over their troops. So far, thank goodness, they have neither.

Initial reports suggest that about 80 percent of the food and water the U.S. military delivered by air to Iraqi civilians on Thursday reached their target, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday, raising the prospect of more deliveries in coming days.

Meanwhile, a senior Kurdish official told CNN that ISIS militants captured Iraq’s largest hydroelectric dam, just north of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. According to the official, the militant fighters have been using U.S.-made weapons seized from the Iraqi army, including M1 Abrams tanks.

There are about 750 U.S. troops currently in Iraq, mostly around the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and at the Baghdad International Airport. About 200 military advisers are working with Iraqi forces – including in Irbil, where the U.S. has a consulate.

“It takes an army to defeat an army, and I believe that we either confront ISIL now or we will be forced to deal with an even stronger enemy in the future. Inaction is no longer an option. I support actions by the administration to coordinate efforts with Iraq and other allies to use our military strength and targeting expertise to the fullest extent possible,” Feinstein said.

Had the humanitarian crisis occurred six or so weeks ago, it is very possible one of the C-130s from the 182d Airlift Wing could have been participating. A report from Stars and Stripes today said two C-130s and one C-17 were over the area where thousands of refugees were perched on a mountain and dropped rations and water. The cargo planes were from the 379th and the 386th Air Expeditionary Wings — sort of makeshift hodgepodge of American units thrown together. Don’t get me wrong, they are a real unit but they are made up of several parts from all over.

Anyway, the 182nd was assigned to the 379th, located in Qatar, while they were over there. Fortunately, our planes and our security forces are back home which is good.

Still I worry about these air strikes which are done to support for the Kurds who are defending their capital of Irbil against the Islamic State. So far, the IS has been unstoppable really. Yes, they have lost a skirmish here and there but when they win, they win big and they are a brutal foe, killing people on the spot and forcing their form of Islam down the throats of everyone in their way.

The US sent two F/A-18 Hornets off the USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier to drop two bombs on mobile artillery of IS. Think truck-pulled cannons or howitzers. (btw, if you want a really cool idea of how the fighters targeted these pieces, check out the link right above or here from the WaPo. Pretty cool stuff). Officially, the White House has said we are doing this as there are US personnel in Irbil; an area though safe until recently given the Kurdish reputation of being strong fighters. From Stripes:

“As the president made clear, the United States military will continue to take direct action against ISIL when they threaten our personnel and facilities” he said.

So now what? What happens when a plane is shot down? What happens if Irbil falls? Turkey, a NATO ally, can’t be thrilled we are helping the Kurds even if they likely hate IS. Will there be fallout there? Will this cause more stress in our relationship with al-Maliki in Baghdad. While the administration has made no bones about wanting the prime minister to leave, this could empower him to stay.